Walking Among Giant Redwoods ...
One of the best experiences I've had on the California Coast - Letters from a Wanderer No 15
Dear Readers,
Hello and welcome to another issue of Letters from a Wanderer!
As I’m sitting home, between trips, I am still thinking of my recent road trip along the California and Oregon Coast. One of the best times I had on that trip was walking among giant redwoods, in several different areas along the Northern California Coast. Being under their canopy, walking in their shadow felt like I was in a magical place, in a place of wonder.
I knew I would need to write a separate post about the experience, about these amazing trees, at least share more photos of them, since I don’t think I have enough words to describe the experience.
As always, thank you for being here! Your support means a lot!
Walking among giant redwoods is a humbling, yet uplifting experience. I feel so tiny as their straight, red-brown trunk towers above me, reaching heights up to 350 feet (106 meters). And yet, I also feel safe and protected among these giants.
The redwood’s Latin name is Sequoia sempervirens, from semper = always, virens = flourishing, or green. Yes, they are always green, and they are relatives of the giant sequoias that grow in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, at higher elevation. We visited them as well and felt the same awe when walking through forests of giant evergreens.
Getting back to redwoods, they grow along the Pacific Coast, from Northern California to Southern Oregon. They are absolutely awe-inspiring! Not only the tallest trees on the planet, but able to survive millennia - at least without human intervention. The oldest known giant redwood tree has been around for over 2,500 years.
They are resistant to fire - at least the mature trees are - thanks to their thick (sometimes up to 12-inches) bark, their lack of flammable resin, and their habit of pruning themselves from small branches as they grow to prevent the fire reaching the canopy where it could spread. Insects can’t destroy them, either, since they have a chemical compound in the wood, tannins, that keeps them away. This same compound also helps keep diseases away.
Interesting fact I found unbelievable is that their roots are very shallow considering their height. They only grow about 10-13 feet down, which I’d imagine would be hard to hold up the towering heavy trees. However, their roots spread more horizontally, up to 60-80 feet, and intertwine with other redwoods, holding each other up, like an enormous community. We could all learn from redwoods.
When you look up at their astonishing height, you might wonder, like I did, how their trunk could carry water from their roots to their top. Turns out, it doesn’t need to. Water evaporating from the tiny pores in the leaves creates enough suction to pull the water. Maybe it would be easier to understand if I knew more about physics. But this is not all.
Redwoods also absorb water from fog at all levels of the canopy. On the Pacific coast, mornings are so foggy, you can barely see through the thick layer of mist, so this works for them. On top of this, during dry summers, redwoods help the entire forest ecosystem, since the excess water they get from the fog drops onto the ground, feeding other species of trees, ferns, shrubs, grasses, and flowers.
And it turns out, redwoods are also the best trees to help with the rising global temperatures. Scientists studying the effects of global warming found that the size and longevity of the redwoods help them store more carbon dioxide than other plants. This includes old redwoods that continue to grow, storing more carbon-filled wood, and it even includes dead trees. Even after they die, the rot-resistant wood of these majestic trees holds on to the carbon for a long time.
They really do protect us - and all living beings on the planet.
So, one of the best ways to help the future of our planet is to protect the redwoods in return.
Muir Woods
Muir Woods National Monument protects redwoods since January 1908. Protecting 285 acres of redwood forest, it was the 7th National Monument in the country, and the first one started from a donation of privately owned land. Over time, the park expanded, and today it is 554 acres.
During our latest trip, this is where we had our first encounter with the giant redwoods. Although it wasn’t the first time I’ve seen giant redwoods (we’ve been in Redwoods National Park years ago), as soon as we drove among them, I was in awe. We knew we’d have to stop for a hike among these majestic trees.
The trails in Muir Woods are easy walking rather than hiking trails. We hiked the main trail, starting at the entrance plaza, along old-growth redwoods. Several bridges connect the two sides of the loop. Instead of staying on one side, we crossed the bridges, and continued until the third bridge, where started our return walk. Overall, this was about a mile-long trail. We stopped often, enjoying the ancient trees, looking up into their canopy far above our heads, and at times stopping to walk inside a partially hollowed tree. I was sad to leave it, but I knew we would see more redwoods in even larger forests.
*Fun fact: The latest Planet of the Apes movie was partially filmed here, in the Muir Woods. We saw several people, mostly teenage kids, taking photos in certain places recognizable from the movie.
Humboldt Redwoods State Park
Our next encounter with the giant redwoods was in Humboldt Redwoods State Park. This park is home to the largest expanse of old-growth ancient redwood forest left on the planet. The 17,000 acres of this ancient forest is incorporated in the larger park, which spans 53,000 acres at this time.
The park is witness of what people can achieve when they care enough. In the early 1900s, loggers came to cut down ancient redwoods, but there were enough people who cared enough to stop this practice - at least in this area. In 1918 they formed the Save the Redwoods League, and in 1921 the league bought a grove of this ancient forest, to protect it. Starting from there, they raised millions of dollars over the years to expand the park to the size it is now.
This was my favorite spot to spend time among these giant trees. No wonder, since it has over 100 trails, which means many of them are deserted at any time. Or maybe our timing was just right. Either way, it was here where I felt closest to the forest, even as I felt minuscule in contrast to the towering trees surrounding me.
Most of the hikes we took were easy walks, in the sense that it was no elevation gain throughout. As soon as we entered the park, we stopped in the closest empty parking lot. Barely discernible in the dark forest, the nearby trail led us to a stream, where we stopped and enjoyed the fragrance of the woods and the gurgling sound of the crystal-clear water. I don’t remember if the trail had a name (I’m sure it does), all I remember is the feeling of awe while being there, alone with only my family, surrounded by the mossy forest and towering trees.
We stopped to hike several other trails, wider and more traveled, and they were all great in their own way. They usually led to old-growth areas with larger redwoods, some with giant cavities in their trunk, large enough for several of us to fit in.
I felt that we didn’t spend enough time in this ancient forest, but I’m sure we will return. I also knew that we would stop at Redwood National Park, where we would experience it on an even larger level.
Redwood National and State Parks
As usual when we expect too much, the actual experience may fall flat. My personal experience in Redwood National and Sate Park wasn’t quite as memorable as in Humboldt State Park. “Call something paradise…” and too many people visit it, taking away from the experience.
However, we were on a road trip, the park was not our ultimate destination, so we didn’t have time to find quieter areas. I’m sure they exist, since the park is large enough for hidden spots, covering 131,983 acres, with over 200 trails crossing it.
We stopped at one of the most popular trails through an old growth forest of redwoods, along the scenic road through the park. Though we encountered too many loud groups of people that took away from the experience, the trail was still absolutely worth taking.
Protecting the Redwoods
Redwoods are an amazing nature-based solution for climate change.
I mentioned earlier that the height of redwoods allows them to store more carbon than other species. Besides this, they create their own microclimates through shade, moisture, and condensation, which keeps the forest wetter and cooler as temperatures rise. Redwood forests offer refuge to a variety of plants and wildlife, helping them survive climate change.
They also help nearby communities. By helping retain water by reducing the speed the water runs off the land, they improve the quality of water downstream, helping communities in the area through droughts and floods.
However, until the parks started protecting them, logging was threatening the existence of redwood forests. I can’t understand why, but it must be human nature to use resources to extreme, much more than needed, thus destroying our surroundings. I suppose it stems from a skewed world-view that we are the center of the universe, that we are more important than any other living thing around us. In the process, we don’t even seem to care that we are destroying ourselves, too. Or just not thinking far enough to see it?
Not all humans think that way though. Indigenous people have lived in harmony with redwoods for more than 10,000 years, they had no desire to cut down the majestic trees.
It hurts me to say it, but it was European immigrants who started clear-cutting these forests in the mid-1800s. They used it for lumber, but until they had steam-power, they didn’t do much damage, since the process of cutting these trees was hard. However, with steam-power, the process was easier, so they kept cutting more and more. After WWII, whole hillsides of redwood forest disappeared. And they still kept cutting.
Fortunately, it is also in human nature to try to protect things we love. And enough people loved the mighty redwoods to try saving them. Groups, often led by women, started to act in the early 20th century to protect the lands the giant redwoods grew. California Federation of Women’s Clubs was the first organization to buy an old-growth redwood forest to protect it. Then, the Save the Redwoods League formed in 1918 to stop logging in the area that is now part of Humboldt State Park. Redwood National Park was formed much later, in 1968, to protect areas of the remaining redwoods.
It’s unfortunate that we need legislature to set aside and protect ancient forests and other areas of natural beauty or importance for our own well-being. At least we have it, but wouldn’t it be nice if we all lived in harmony with our surroundings, if we didn’t feel the need to destroy nature around us, if we didn’t need a government to tell us we are not allowed to destroy it?
I can only dream of a time when we will all understand our own place in our surroundings, as part of the land, not “owners’, “masters” of it, and re-learn to live in harmony with our surroundings. I can only hope that it won’t be too late, that we will still have a chance to recover what we have lost.
Looking at the mainstream news everywhere, it doesn’t look like we have much hope. But I believe that even in the last possible minute, we can all come together, and save our planet and ourselves. Organizations like those working towards protecting redwood forests give me hope.
As I’m finishing this post, I noticed I have 101 followers here, on Substack! Thank you all for being here, for noticing and reading my work! It makes me feel I’m not just publishing into the void. I’m trying to make it worth your time. :)
Thank you for being here! Have a wonderful day and if you are on the road, happy travels!
All the best,
Emese
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Amazing article. I absolutely need to visit these majestic Redwoods.
Great read with so many eye-opening facts about redwoods. It’s amazing how roots less than 15 feet long can support a towering height of 350 feet, plus they self-prune and are fire-resistant!!
If you're a tree lover like me, you might find Peter Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees really interesting.